Saturday's opening game of the fourth round of the Premier League will be played at St Mary's. There is no telling how the season will unfold for Southampton and Manchester United, but the teams are currently neighbours in the standings with the Saints holding a one-point advantage. Certainly not the start to the league season that the Mancunians fans were hoping for, eager for a return to the legendary days of Alex Ferguson. However, they have forgiven their favourites a great deal since last weekend's win over vice-champion of England.

Manchester United did start the season with two unexpected defeats. In the first, the 'ram' from Brighton was written off as an accidental misfiring of the opening round, but the nightmare of the second round with four conceded goals in the first half from Brentford seriously shook up Eric ten Hag's charges. The Mancunians went into last week's encounter at Old Trafford as underdogs. The bookmakers rated Liverpool's chances of victory at odds of 1.70. Having said that, Manchester United appeared in a completely different state and managed to beat England's second team without Cristiano Ronaldo, who came on until the 86th minute. Undoubtedly, Erik ten Hag's main task now is to achieve stability in the results. Against the Saints, the visitors will come out in good spirits, but with two defeats under their belt when playing first-choice.

And Southampton are certainly not going to take control of the game and possess the ball. The team finished the previous league season in 15th place, so four points in three games to start the current season can be regarded as a positive result. Moreover, the Saints suffered their only defeat at the hands of a strengthened Tottenham in London. A loss in the first round did not particularly embarrass Hasenhuttl's charges, as evidenced by a 2-2 draw with Leeds and a 2-1 away win over Leicester. It is important to note that the Austrian coach is making active and effective use of the players acquired in the off-season.

Southampton have scored in all official matches this season. Although the Saints will come into the game as underdogs, it is unlikely that the home side will have shaky knees. The visitors, on the other hand, should build on their previous success. Pre-match predictions promise at least 3-4 goals in the game.